C.J. Miles
One year removed from its first 60-win season, the Toronto Raptors have continued its success sitting second overall in the Eastern Conference. The Canadian franchise made one of the moves of the offseason trading former franchise centerpiece DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard. One player who hasn’t benefited from the DeRozan – Leonardtransaction is veteran C.J Miles.
Miles is making just 27.1 percent of his treys and is stuck in a logjam of wings on Toronto’s roster. His poor play has seen him slip right out of the rotation, averaging seven minutes in the teams last five games.
Will it be enough for Toronto?
Whether or not Oklahoma City’s offer of Alex Abrines and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is enough to pry Miles from Toronto remains to be seen. Abrines is a solid 3-point shooter whose contract is expiring at seasons end while TLC is a throw-in to make the contracts work.
While the Raptors sent a first-round pick to Indiana for Miles in 2017, the veteran wing is having his worst season since his 2006-07 sophomore year and his value is at an all-time low. With two years, $17-million (approximately) left on his deal, the Raptors may not expect pick compensation, opting to cut its losses and move on.
Will Miles break out for OKC?
Miles is a 35.8 percent career 3-point shooter in the midst of a slump. Oklahoma City NEED 3-point shooting badly and trading for Miles any other time would be seen as a move in the right direction. The Thunder will be relying on the veteran to bounce back to form.
As it stands, Miles is a low-risk, high reward gamble and with the Thunder’s current state of outside shooting (or lack of), can afford to take a chance on the 31-year-old.